'Secret Love' is the finest expression yet of the profound friendships that created Dry Cleaning, between frontperson Florence Shaw, guitarist Tom Dowse, drummer Nick Buxton and bassist Lewis Maynard. Here, the south London four-piece take their place in rock’s avant garde, catalysing the Reaganite paranoia of early 80s US punk and hardcore with the dry strut of Keith Richards, stoner rock, dystopian degradation, playful no wave and pastoral fingerpicking, while Florence’s delivery, meticulously calibrated to her bandmates’ soundscapes, asserts her in a lineage of spoken-word artists stretching from Laurie Anderson to Life Without Buildings’ Sue Tompkins.

The follow-up to 'Stumpwork' started life in Peckham rehearsal spaces, all four members writing, playing and responding to each other in the room: in Dry Cleaning, music and lyrics form an inseparable, generative whole. 'Secret Love' evolved through affirming sessions at Jeff Tweedy’s Chicago studio the Loft and explosive ones with Gilla Band’s Alan Duggan and Daniel Fox at Sonic Studios in Dublin, taking advantage of the sonic particulars of each space, and finally with Cate Le Bon at Black Box in the Loire Valley. After interviewing various potential producers, they picked Cate – an esteemed solo artist who has also made albums for Deerhunter, Devendra Banhart, Wilco and Horsegirl – for her unabashed positivity and openness. “Being in a room with them and hearing that vitality and life force that exists between them all, it’s such a unique expression,” she says.

Trust is 'Secret Love’s guiding theme, as signified by compulsively catchy ‘Hit My Head All Day’ which opens the album. Powered by pistons of breathy synths and cresting arcs of guitar, Florence’s signature mix of absurdism and sensitivity, “The song is about manipulation of the body and mind. The lyrics were initially inspired by the use of misinformation on social media by the far right. There are powerful people that seek to influence our behaviour for their own gain; to buy certain things, to vote a certain way. I find it hard to read people’s intentions and decide who to trust, even in everyday life. It’s easy to fall under the influence of a sinister stranger who seems like a friend.

We took a playful approach to the song. At one point it had harmonica on it instead of a vocal. At the demo stage we were inspired by There's a Riot Goin' On by Sly and the Family Stone.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A scathing, storied stroll through the halls of post-punk, art rock and punk from London's Dry Cleaning. Though their sound has always been rich with the off-kilter jank of their more arty contemporaries, Cate Le Bon's production only serves to exacerbate the jank while reigning in some of the more distracting sonic outliers. It's the perfect choice for this sound, and results in the best Dry Cleaning LP of their career.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hit My Head All Day
2. Cruise Ship Designer
3. My Soul / Half Pint
4. Secret Love (Concealed In A Drawing Of A Boy)
5. Let Me Grow And You’ll See The Fruit
6. Blood
7. Evil Evil Idiot
8. Rocks
9. The Cute Things
10. I Need You
11. Joy

After a prolific 18-month period releasing two critically acclaimed John Parish-produced studio albums, New Long Leg (2021) and Stumpwork (2022), as well as last year’s companion release the five-track Swampy EP, South London’s Dry Cleaning are taking a moment to reflect on their journey and pay homage to their roots.

Dry Cleaning’s origin story is well known by now. Guitarist Tom Dowse, drummer Nick Buxton, and bassist Lewis Maynard had been friends and musical collaborators for years, and invited mutual friend Florence Shaw – a visual artist, picture researcher and drawing lecturer – to join the band in 2017. With clear musical influences from the Feelies, the Necessaries, the B52s and Pylon, and constrained by the small garage space they rehearsed in, Dry Cleaning were drawn to making simple music; direct and uncomplicated, anything superfluous was left behind.

By March 2018 the group had recorded the six-track debut EP Sweet Princess with producer Kristian Craig Robinson at Total Refreshment Centre in a single day. Two months later, in May 2018, the band played their first live show in Dalston at the Shacklewell Arms, and released the EP in August. Sweet Princess was a thrilling debut, its dizzying and restless instrumentals with Shaw’s sardonic vocals delivering a satirical collage of witty observations and social commentary. A further 6 songs in the form of the Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks EP quickly followed two months after. It was named in tribute to the band’s rehearsal space in Maynard’s family’s south London (Sidcup) home, and to his mother Susan whose home-cooked meals sustained the four friends in between sessions. With singles like ‘Sit Down Meal’ and ‘Viking Hair’, Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks is a powerful companion to Sweet Princess. They share a similar pent-up energy, unsurprising given they came to life in the same environment those EPs were created in, an environment that had a huge influence on the band during those formative years.

TRACK LISTING

Boundary Road Snacks And Drinks:
1. Dog Proposal
2. Viking Hair
3. Spoils
4. Jam After School
5. Sombre One
6. Sit Down Meal

Sweet Princess:
1. Goodnight
2. New Job
3. Magic Of Meghan
4. Traditional Fish
5. Phone Scam
6. Conversation

After a prolific 18-month period releasing two critically acclaimed John Parish-produced studio albums, New Long Leg (2021) and Stumpwork (2022), as well as last year’s companion release the five-track Swampy EP, South London’s Dry Cleaning are taking a moment to reflect on their journey and pay homage to their roots.

Dry Cleaning’s origin story is well known by now. Guitarist Tom Dowse, drummer Nick Buxton, and bassist Lewis Maynard had been friends and musical collaborators for years, and invited mutual friend Florence Shaw – a visual artist, picture researcher and drawing lecturer – to join the band in 2017. With clear musical influences from the Feelies, the Necessaries, the B52s and Pylon, and constrained by the small garage space they rehearsed in, Dry Cleaning were drawn to making simple music; direct and uncomplicated, anything superfluous was left behind.

By March 2018 the group had recorded the six-track debut EP Sweet Princess with producer Kristian Craig Robinson at Total Refreshment Centre in a single day. Two months later, in May 2018, the band played their first live show in Dalston at the Shacklewell Arms, and released the EP in August. Sweet Princess was a thrilling debut, its dizzying and restless instrumentals with Shaw’s sardonic vocals delivering a satirical collage of witty observations and social commentary. A further 6 songs in the form of the Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks EP quickly followed two months after. It was named in tribute to the band’s rehearsal space in Maynard’s family’s south London (Sidcup) home, and to his mother Susan whose home-cooked meals sustained the four friends in between sessions. With singles like ‘Sit Down Meal’ and ‘Viking Hair’, Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks is a powerful companion to Sweet Princess. They share a similar pent-up energy, unsurprising given they came to life in the same environment those EPs were created in, an environment that had a huge influence on the band during those formative years.

TRACK LISTING

1. Dog Proposal
2. Viking Hair
3. Spoils
4. Jam After School
5. Sombre One
6. Sit Down Meal
7. Strong Feelings

The South London-based group’s first studio album, recorded in just two weeks with producer John Parish at the iconic Rockfield Studios, became a huge critical and commercial success reaching #4 in the UK Album Charts and featuring in best-of-2021 polls across the board. Buoyed by its success, Nick Buxton (drums), Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard (bass) and Florence Shaw (vocals) returned to rural Wales in late 2021, partnering once more with Parish and engineer Joe Jones. Working from a position of trust in the same studio and with the same team, imposter syndrome and anxiety was replaced by a fresh freedom and openness to explore beyond an already rangy sonic palette, a newfound confidence in their creative vision. A longer period in the studio afforded the time to experiment, improvise, play, sharpen their table tennis skills.

Stumpwork was inspired by a plethora of events, concepts, and political debacles, be they represented in the icy mess of ambient elements reflecting a certain existential despair, or the surprising warmth in celebrating the lives of loved ones lost through the previous year. Surrealist lyrics are as ever at the forefront – but there is a sensitivity now to the themes of family, money, politics, self-deprecation, and sensuality. Furious alt-rock anthems combine across the record with jangle pop and ambient noise, demonstrating the wealth of influences the band feed off and their deep musicality. With the pressure of their debut album behind them, Dry Cleaning have crafted an ambitious and deeply rewarding new work that marks them out as one of the most intelligent and exciting acts to come out of the UK.

The album and single artwork were conceived and created by multi-disciplinary artists Rottingdean Bazaar and photographer Annie Collinge. James Theseus Buck and Luke Brooks of Rottingdean Bazaar first worked with Dry Cleaning directing the official video for ‘Scratchcard Lanyard’ and as their creative partnership with the band continues to flourish, they have fashioned a brilliantly unique visual identity for Stumpwork.

STAFF COMMENTS

Liam says: Loved last year's "New Long Leg"? Well you're gonna love this! Crammed full of that wry and witty humour that we adored on their debut, Dry Cleaning also step up sonically on "Stumpwork" with tonnes of infectious post-punk. Without a doubt a truly special band, who we hope stay with us for many years to come.

TRACK LISTING

1. Anna Calls From The Arctic
2. Kwenchy Kups
3. Gary Ashby
4. Driver’s Story
5. Hot Penny Day
6. Stumpwork
7. No Decent Shoes For Rain
8. Don’t Press Me
9. Conservative Hell
10. Liberty Log
11. Icebergs

Musically, Dry Cleaning have been compared to the likes of The Fall and Sonic Youth as well as their contemporaries Squid, Shame and Yard Act, who are only some of the bands that have been riding the waves of the recent post punk resurgence. The London band combines repetitive bass lines with moody yet catchy guitar riffs and lecturer and visual artist Florence Shaw’s dry, monotone Sprechgesang.

Seemingly samey at first listen, it’s a record that keeps revealing more with each play. No matter how often you think you have shelved it, it will always make itself known again. Dry Cleaning’s lyrics are a combination of Shaw’s own writing and snippets of other people’s reflections she has come across - be it via real life conversations or on the internet, e.g. in the Youtube comment wormhole. Like a stream of consciousness they make for an interesting read / listen, with highlights aplenty. “I think of myself as a hardy banana with that waxy surface and the small delicate flowers / A woman in aviators firing a bazooka” reads one line. Complete absurdity or the mundanity of everyday life? Tongue in cheek or absolutely serious?

Whichever you think it is, you can’t help but be charmed by her deadpan attitude. One thing I can’t get on board with, however, are her outrageous nutritional opinions. “That seems like a lot of garlic” she muses in ‘Strong Feelings’. There’s never enough garlic.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Dry cleaning's wry humour and impeccable grasp of rhythm and mood permeates the entirety of their newest outing, 'New Long Leg'. Driven bassy groove and melodic guitar licks perfectly accentuate the sultry spoken word vocals, resulting in an impactful and dynamic whole.

TRACK LISTING

1. Scratchcard Lanyard
2. Unsmart Lady
3. Strong Feelings
4. Leafy
5. Her Hippo
6. New Long Leg
7. John Wick
8. More Big Birds
9. A.L.C
10. Every Day Carry